Improvement in cradles



' 0, EILRIOH.

Cradles.

'No. 197,461. Patented Nov. 27, .1817.

Ll IN! Hill UNITED PATENT OFFICE.

can EILRIOH, or chrome, ILLINOIS.

IMPROVEMENT m 'CRADLES.

Specification forming part of Letters Patent No: IQZ IGI, dated November27, 1877 application filed July 3, 1877.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, CARL ETLRICH, of the embodying my'invention; andFigs. 2 and 3- are details of the same.

The object of this invention is to so construct a cradle that it can bemoved or wheeled from one place to another quickly. and easily, when sodesired, and, when inposition for rocking, will be supported firmly onthe floor or carpet;

and its nature consists in supporting the cra-' dle on a base connectedwith wheels, and so arranged that the base and cradle can be elevatedabove the plane of the wheels when it is to be moved, and then droppedor lowered to a plane on a line with the bottom of the wheels, where itwill rest firmly.

In the drawings, (t represents the body of the cradle; I), the cornersupporting-posts, extending some distance below the body a; c, therockers, secured to the lower ends of the posts I). These parts a b 0may be of any of the well-known forms for such parts, and of the usualsizes, the other parts being made in proportion to the size ofthese'parts.

d are pieces of hard wood or other suitable material, wide enough forthe rockers to rest on their tops, and long enough to permit of therockers going to their lowest point and still remain on the bases.

6 e are standards or posts, of considerable.

surface for the rocker to rest on, and hold the rockers in place on thebases, and permit of their free rocking movement, which movement islimited by the bands f striking the edges of the standards.

g is a cross-piece, connecting the two basepieces (Z together. Itslength is such as to bring the posts or standards a 0 just inside of therockers when the parts are in position, and it should be wide enough toprevent any tipping of the cradle when elevated, as this crosspiece 9-supports the cradle'when elevated on the axle. This cross-piece islocated centrally beneath the cradle. V v

h are two pins or rods, permanently secured in the cross-piece 9 nearthe center, and, at a 1 little distance apart, as shown in Figs. 2 and3.

i is the axle or support, located above the cross-piece g,-near thecenter thereof. It is provided on each side of its center with holescorresponding with the pins h, in which the pins-fitiand slide upanddown when the crosspiece g is raised or lowered. w j are the wheels,secured on the endsof the axle z in any suitable manner. are largeenough to permit of their easy'passage over the sill of the door orother small obstructions, and also to permit of the turning of thecradle accurately in any direction. his a post, permanently secured inthe top of the axle i, at the center thereof. It is provided with a slotat its upper end.

1 is a lever, pivoted in the slot of the post is. One end of this leveris connected to the standard e, and the other end projects a shortdistance beyond the post 6, which post, as shown, is provided with anotch to engage with the end of the lever when depressed, and hold it inposition.

m is a metal connecting-piece, one end of which is secured to the top ofthe standard 0, and the other to the end of the lever l, by means ofwhich the lever is attached to the post. This end of the lever may beconnected to the post by other devices, if desired.

The parts d 9 form the base of the cradle, and its length is such thatthe rockers will be outside of the standards e e, and rest on thatportion of the base d outside of each standard, which bases should bewide enough for this purpose. When the cradle is used for rocking, thebase d g and the wheels j are to rest on the same plane, in whichposition the base will rest squarely and firmly onv the carpet or floor.The lever l in such case will be raised up and disengaged from itslocking device. In

These wheelswhen the cradle is rocked hard it can only go to the limitof the bands or loops f, which, striking against the standards 6e,prevent the cradle from rocking to apoint where it will tip over,unless the whole of the base is tipped; but this cannot very wellhappen, as the base cannot easily. be thrown up so far but what itsweight will draw it back.

, When it is desired to roll or move the era dle from one place toanother, the lever lis depressed at its free end by-the hand or foot,which depression of the lever causes the opposite end thereof to rise;and as this end is connected to the base 01 through the standard a, thatend of the base will also rise, bringing with it the connecting-piece g;and this upward movement of the parts will continue until the piece 9strikes against the under side of the axle i, the pins h sliding up inthe holes in the axle, when the lever l is locked by engaging it withthe notch in c, holding the board or piece 1 in contact with the axle.

Then by taking hold of the cradle and bringing it to a level position,the whole of the base will be supported clear of the floor or carpet,leaving the cradle supported on the wheels j. In this position thecradle can be moved or rolled wherever desired withoutmuch exertion, andwhen the desired position is reached the lever I can be disengaged, whenthe base will drop to the floor by its own weight in proper position forrocking the cradle.

By making the wheels j of I considerable size, the cradle can be handledeasier than if small caster-wheels were used, as with such caster-wheelsit is sometimes difficult to climb over a door-sill and by using onlytwo wheels secured to an axle, as shown, the cradle can be turned or runclose -to any object without any danger of running into such object, assuch construction'gives the operator perfect control over the movementsof the eradle, which would not be the case if small caster-wheels wereused for this purpose.

What I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. The base (1 g for supporting the cradle,

in combination with the axle i, wheels j, and

. CARL EILRIOH.

Witnesses O. W. Bonn, F. F. BRUNS.

